Pan-Seared Scallops with Herb Brown Butter Sauce

I love seafood for a romantic dinner for two and these sexy Scallops with Brown Butter Sauce are the perfect starter for a special night. The buttery sauce on these juicy scallops combined with fresh herbs and lemon is a wonderful way to tease the taste buds.

Marina Del Rey scallops (300 g)
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. butter
handful fresh herbs, such as; thyme, sage or tarragon
1 clove garlic, minced
½ lemon, freshly juiced
½ cup pinenuts, lightly toasted
3 Tbsp. capers (optional)

Toast pine nuts. Heat a pan over medium heat for a couple minutes and add the pinenuts. You don’t need anything else, no oil, no salt, no pepper

Allow the pinenuts to toast for 30-45 seconds, and then toss them in the pan

Let them go another 30 seconds or so, and then toss again

Repeat this process until you start seeing them just brown, then remove them let them cool

Be careful, not to burn them. They can go from nicely browned to burnt, very quickly, so I suggest you stick around, rather than walking away for a couple minutes

Heat olive oil in medium sized saucepan, medium high heat. Pat scallops dry softly. Salt and pepper before adding to saucepan. Add scallops and cook for three minutes.

Add butter to pan along with garlic and herbs. Turn scallops over and cook until golden - approximately 2 minutes.

Squeeze lemon juice over scallops and served.

When you are searing the scallops, be sure to leave some space between each so that they are not touching.

If you are buying water packed scallops, be sure to make sure they are dried off with paper towels before cooking.

Makes 4 servings.